Sacrifice
by Medusa-sensei
Summary: He was a sacrifice. And that's all he'll ever be.


"Please don't be mistaken," he softly whispered as his hands tightly gripped the older man's neck without the slightest hint of remorse or hesitation, a nearly maniacal – _fanged_ – grin spreading across his whiskered cheeks. "We may have one particular similarity but that alone doesn't insinuate that I have to follow all of your orders. We are of two different entities with diverse outlooks on life and the shinobi world as it is."

Blood slowly trailed down the elderly man's chin, his eyes – one being a dark shade of black and the other being a familiar shade of red which unmistakably belonged to the Uchiha clan's kekkei genkai – gradually narrowing in evident defiance, an almost sardonic smirk tugging at the edges of his bruised lips.

"One similarity?" he wheezed with a small breathless laugh. "Uzumaki, you underestimate yourself…" The frail man slowly raised his right arm where 10 of the Uchiha Clan's kekkei genkai were embedded and engraved, his eyes gleaming with genuine disappointment. "You are powerful, powerful enough to kill _me_ , and _powerful enough to destroy your cage._ However, you don't know how to utilize your tremendous strength; you simply run around, barking like the good dog you are, following that foolish leader of ours…"

His head snapped to the right at a speed that even the Sharingan couldn't catch up to, a pained grimace replacing the smug smirk he used to have on his face.

"Ah, my hand slipped," the child dully stated as he feigned a nervous smile while retracting his left hand which held a kunai. "Don't worry, Shimura-san. It wasn't entirely intentional…" There was a sinister gleam within his piercing blue eyes that were tinted red. "Just like how you weren't chosen as the Hokage after the Fourth's death."

Danzo gritted his teeth.

"You know nothing, Uzumaki; don't make any foolish assumptions."

"Assumptions? Don't take me for a fool, Danzo-san. I might know more than I let on."

The older man scowled at the child's pretentious manner of speech. "And what could you possibly know that would gratify your actions?"

Uzumaki Naruto smiled.

"Your alliance with Orochimaru which involved the abduction of certain Konoha citizens, the establishment of Root which was made to be an ANBU training subdivision, the orchestration of the Uchiha Massacre, resuming the active status of Root despite being officially disbanded by the Hokage and prioritizing your own interests in order to gain the status of the Hokage," he listed off, watching as Danzo's expression slowly contorted into one of pure rage. "I would have included the possession of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan but that would put Hatake Kakashi-san in a precarious position."

"You…" the frail man growled, chakra gathering in his hands. He would readily admit that he saw potential in dangerous people and that he would not hesitate to get his hands on them in order to manipulate and make them _his_ to control. Admittedly, he holds the largest potential of them all.

However, he just can't see himself _manipulating_ this child.

The grip around his neck tightened even further and it was then that the older man recognized the _burning_ feeling slowly rising from the child's small yet unyielding hands, the feeling of excoriating and scorching pain making him scream in inexplicable agony. He couldn't breathe and the chakra that he had tried so hard to gather has diffused into nothingness. He _knew_ that he wasn't physically burning. No, he had mastered the art of physically tolerating and enduring pain from all elements.

This was something else.

As he struggled to stabilize his hold on consciousness, he could somewhat make out how the line on the young child's cheeks thickened even further, his skin _tearing_ from the intensity of the chakra that was boiling on his skin's surface, resembling the form of something revoltingly and disgustingly familiar. He looked worse- way _worse_ than he had been a few seconds ago.

It was much to Danzo's horrification that all it took was a single moment, and everything was over.

* * *

" **Was it necessary to kill him?** "

Naruto paused, momentarily stunned, his eyes narrowing in interest at the odd and unusual remark that he heard within his head. The demon usually never questioned his intentions, mostly because he generally understood what was going through his head; given that they shared one mindscape and that they shared the same ideals.

"There will come a time where I have to face him for competition, especially because we are similar in terms of beliefs at a certain degree. I wouldn't want to confront him in the future," he mumbled. "Why are you asking me that _now_?"

He could vaguely hear the sound of a soft dark chuckle.

" **Contrary to what you actually believe, I have no idea what's going through your head, Naruto,** " the demon admitted wryly, utterly displeased that he had to make an admission. " **I can clearly see the elder's point with you having enough power to obliterate this village out of the map, and yet you're doing everything that puny Hokage tells you.** "

"Jinchūriki," Naruto said, looking above at the dirtied ceiling of his room. He smiled sadly. "I am a Jinchūriki, Kyuubi. I am a sacrifice. To the village, for the village, and because of the village, and that is everything that matters. Besides, I know that your only concern is my – _our_ – safety. You don't have to worry. I don't plan on dying that easily."

The demon didn't say anything. Content as the being was, he might be a little perturbed. But as long as the blonde does nothing to kill them both, then he was fine.


End file.
